Quinoa is an ancient grain from the Andean region of South American, including Peru. While my husband and I were in Peru last month we actually didn’t eat any quinoa – our guide for the Choquequirao trek said that most of the quinoa is exported out of the country and what remains is expensive. While at home in Colorado we eat a lot of quinoa, mainly in salads because it’s not so great on its own. This is a quick and easy salad, perfect for those warm nights.

Serves 4-6

time: roughly 40 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked quinoa, cooked per package directions

cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

1/2 orange bell pepper, sliced in bite-size pieces

1/2 red bell pepper, sliced in bite-size pieces

green onion, sliced thinly

cucumber, peeled and sliced in bite-size pieces

kalamata olives, sliced in half

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

black pepper

kosher salt

feta cheese

pine nuts

Directions:

1) Cook the quinoa according to the package instructions – remove from heat and let cool.

2) After washing the vegetables cut them and set aside on the cutting board. Slice the kalamata olives in half.

I have so many posts that I need to catch up on, it’s ridiculous. I made this dish awhile ago, and as always it was pretty darn tasty. And I always I made some substitutions from the original recipe and made it my own.

prep time: 25 minutes

cooking time: 75 minutes

Ingredients:

chicken thighs (enough to serve those who are eating, up to 6 pieces otherwise add more of the other ingredients)

5. Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a cast iron pan on medium heat; cook chicken with skin side down and brown for about 10 minutes. Flip to cook the other side and cook for an additional 10 minutes.

6. Pour in the Marsala wine and turn up the heat to high until alcohol evaporates.